The night grew deeper, and the lights of the Uchiha clan grounds swayed in the evening breeze.
With Uzumaki Kushina added to the training roster, Chiya's time over the past month had been divided up perfectly.
Mornings were spent teaching Kushina to train with the Rasengan. Afternoons were devoted to Uchiha Shisui's all-around development.
The Military Police Force headquarters saw him for only a short while in the early morning and late evening. He was almost never there otherwise.
As for the Military Police Force's day-to-day affairs, they were almost all routine matters, and all of it had been handed over to his secretary Mikoto.
Chiya had just wrapped up a full day of training and was sitting in the courtyard enjoying his tea when he suddenly sensed a familiar chakra signature approaching.
'Who would be coming at this hour?'
He set down his teacup and looked toward the gate.
A moment later, a silver-haired figure appeared in his field of view.
Hatake Sakumo was dressed in his ANBU attire, his brow carrying a trace of gravity.
"Sakumo?"
Chiya raised an eyebrow.
"The border situation is tense. How does the ANBU captain have time to come pay me a visit?"
Sakumo gave a wry smile.
"That is exactly what I am here about."
Mikoto heard the sound from the inner room and came out. She understood immediately upon seeing the guest and quietly began preparing tea and refreshments.
She set the tea things out in silence, gave Sakumo a small nod, and then tactfully withdrew to the kitchen.
Chiya poured his old friend a cup of tea.
"The cooperation proposal we discussed has already been settled. What else needed your personal visit?"
Sakumo did not answer right away. Instead, he reached into his coat and pulled out a scroll, spreading it open.
Chiya glanced at it and saw it was a map of the Land of Rain, densely marked with the positions of various factions.
"It is not that matter. It is about the Land of Rain."
"Since Hanzo's death, the Land of Rain has become complete chaos."
Sakumo's finger traced across the map.
"I sent people to investigate and received the intelligence today.
Iwa-nin, Suna-nin, Kumo-nin, even Mist-nin operatives are all active in that area.
The recent border friction is connected to them."
Chiya's gaze sharpened.
The Land of Rain served as a buffer zone between the Five Great Nations. Its strategic value went without saying.
The Second Shinobi World War had been fought mainly on that ground, and now it looked as though history was about to repeat itself.
"What is your thinking?"
"I wanted to hear your view on the Land of Rain."
Sakumo looked directly into Chiya's eyes.
The courtyard fell quiet for a moment, with only the scent of tea drifting through the night air.
Chiya turned his teacup slowly in his hands, his thoughts moving quickly.
"Rather than letting the Land of Rain become a battlefield where friend and foe are indistinguishable..."
Chiya said slowly.
"We should move ahead of time and turn it into our barrier instead."
Sakumo's pupils contracted slightly.
"You mean..."
"Yes. We take control of the Land of Rain."
Chiya's finger pressed firmly on the location of Amegakure on the map.
"Support a government that is friendly to Konoha. Turn that place into our forward outpost."
The boldness of the proposal made Sakumo draw a sharp breath.
In the past, a situation like this would call for Konoha to send ninja in to carry out intelligence operations and monitor surrounding movements.
What was being proposed now was far bolder than that.
He instinctively glanced around and lowered his voice.
"This amounts to interfering in another country's internal affairs. If the other great nations find out..."
"It is nothing like that."
Chiya shook his head.
"We would simply be offering friendly mutual assistance to a neighboring country, for the sake of their peace and stability."
Hearing that explanation, Sakumo stared blankly.
How did Chiya manage to say something like that with a straight face...
"Then what specific reason do we give for this so-called mutual assistance?"
Chiya smiled.
"Is that even a question? Reasons are easy to find.
Say that several wandering Rain-nin crossed into the Land of Fire and killed a number of people.
Or say that a Rain-nin jonin was killed by Iwa-nin near the Land of Fire's border, and as a friendly neighbor to the Land of Rain, we naturally cannot stand by and do nothing."
"Attach whatever label suits the occasion and move covertly. Keep the public narrative going alongside it, and take the opportunity to act on other matters at the same time."
Sakumo fell into deep thought.
After years as ANBU captain, he understood the importance of the Land of Rain better than anyone.
Small as it was in area, its geopolitical significance was anything but simple.
If they could control it, Konoha would have the advantage going into any future conflict.
But the situation inside the Land of Rain right now was extraordinarily complicated.
Sakumo could not think of any suitable faction or person to support there.
"Do you have someone in mind?"
"We need to go take a look first before we can say."
Konan, Yahiko, and Nagato flashed through Chiya's mind.
Going by how things had progressed, they should be...
Working toward the peace they believed in, no doubt.
"You want to go yourself?"
Sakumo's eyes shifted. He looked at Chiya with some surprise.
"Yes. The matter of the Land of Rain is not something to take lightly.
Looking at how the friction is escalating, the time Konoha has left may only be a few years."
Sakumo gave a serious nod.
After weighing it for a moment.
"Your plan is sound, but if we actually reach the point where we help them consolidate the entire Land of Rain, could it slip out of Konoha's control?
If they then turn toward another country, would all our work have been for nothing?"
Helping the Land of Rain consolidate and then getting kicked out was not impossible.
A hint of amusement appeared in Chiya's eyes.
"I never said anything about helping the Land of Rain consolidate."
Sakumo stiffened at those words.
A thought rose immediately in his mind.
After Hanzo's death, the Land of Rain would need a new leader. That was only natural.
"But who says the Land of Rain needs to have just one leader?"
The look in Sakumo's eyes turned serious at once.
He could not help but feel deep admiration for this plan.
A fully unified Land of Rain was not what they wanted at all.
So what was the specific plan of action?
Three steps.
Chiya dipped his finger in his tea and sketched out a rough diagram on the table.
First, the ANBU enter the Land of Rain under the pretense of pursuing missing-nin.
Second, make secret contact with key figures in the Land of Rain and offer them some supplies and training.
Third... help them purge hostile elements, particularly the ninja of other villages who have infiltrated the region.
By the time he reached the third step, Chiya's eyes had grown sharp.
Sakumo understood immediately.
"The Third..."
"Informing him is fine, but the specific actions are ours to carry out."
"The Third will understand our good intentions."
Sakumo gave Chiya a long, considering look.
The current situation was unclear, and unconventional measures were genuinely necessary.
"Tomorrow then. We lead the team and head out."
Chiya glanced at the clock hanging on the wall.
"Every village is sharpening its weapons. We must move first."
"Yes."
"..."
The two discussed several more details.
By the time Sakumo rose to take his leave, the moon had already shifted west.
Chiya walked him to the gate and then asked suddenly.
"What has Jiraiya been up to lately?"
"I heard from the Third a while back that he was looking for someone. He has been around the village recently. Something about gathering material."
Sakumo answered casually, then caught himself.
"Mm? Why did you suddenly bring him up?"
Chiya shook his head.
"Just asking."
Jiraiya was back. Which meant those three young ones in the Land of Rain should by now be able to hold their own.
He wondered how Konan was doing these days.
After seeing Sakumo off, Chiya stood in the courtyard for a long while without moving.
Mikoto came quietly and draped an outer garment over his shoulders.
"Rain is coming."
She looked up at the cloud-covered night sky and asked softly.
Chiya took her slightly cool hand in his.
"Yes. A storm is almost here."
"Mikoto."
"Mm?"
"I will be leaving the village for some time tomorrow. Could you let Kushina and Shisui know for me?
And the training plans I set up for them, have them keep going.
When I come back, I will check on how they have been progressing!"